Liu Xiaobo awarded Nobel Peace Prize

Liu Xiaobo, Chinese dissident and democracy campaigner, has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize “for his long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China”.

Liu is in jail for 11 years for advocating for democracy and human rights in China.

NY Times reports that China threatened that relations with Norway would be damaged if the Nobel went to Liu. But the Committee did it anyway.

Apparently the Chinese Communist Party dictatorship, that National and Labour are so fond of, doesn’t like it much. And hence is trying to suppress the news in China but is struggling to do so.

It’s great that not everyone sucks up to the Chinese dictatorship like successive NZ Governments have. And that other countries and organisations are speaking out on behalf of those struggling for fundamental human rights in China.